We'll Always Have Paris

"Paris is the blonde date we share with the world. You & I have never met, but we'll still have Paris as our place." A A Gill.
I've always had a soft spot for Paris.  Architecturally speaking of course!  There is a quality of light, texture and timelessness in Paris that somehow manages to cocoon the buildings of the city in a bubble that defies the ages.
Look at any photo of the great buildings of Paris and you'll know what I mean.  The classic design and grandness of these amazing structures are virtually unchanged since they were completed a few hundred years ago.  Take the Louvre, Versailles Palace and the Bastille for example. All these buildings are inexorably a part of Paris and the landscape that surrounds them.  They "sit" in their own special part of Paris in a way that makes them feel like they belong there and there alone.  They wouldn't look the same in another city.  They would look uncomfortable.  This is the role of architects and building designer's the world over... make the buildings, structures and houses that we design to be comfortable in their surroundings.  If we strive to achieve this then maybe, just maybe, we can capture a tiny piece of the essence of Paris.